The Almost
by CarrieUnderwood25
Summary: After 2 weeks caseless, Bones and Booth jump on their newest case when the eighth victim in a string of murders is found. But when the 9th person being held hits close to home...
1. The Case

A/N: Hey guys

**A/N: Hey guys! I'm on break and I decided to start another Bones fic! Okay now my last story Snow Bound was light and fluffy, but this one is definitely more dramatic. A **_**lot**_** more dramatic. Anyway, I really hope this story gets as positive reviews as did Snow Bound! Here it goes: **

_**Chapter 1: The Case:**_

She knew the chapter, book and verse. Temperance Brennan was not a religious person, nor was the one to read the Bible, but this verse was cemented in her mind and probably would be for the rest of her existence. This short Bible verse which she had read over time after time in her current case had been read to victim after victim before they were viciously terminated. And now she, the hope of the seven girls found murdered, was the one being read Genesis 9:5. 

One week prior…

Special Agent Seely Booth had never been so happy to hear about a dead body in his life. It was starting get boring not having a case to work on two weeks straight, but he'd just gotten a call telling him about a body that was found on the other side of DC and he couldn't wait to tell his favorite forensic anthropologist. After the first week of not seeing Brennan he had begun to go stir crazy. That Friday of their first week apart he had called her, and wasn't able to hang up the phone until he admitted to his partner that the reason why he had called her was because he missed her. He smirked at the thought of their phone conversation; nothing was ever easy with her. Therefore it made sense that falling for her was just as complicated as everything else was. 

As he walked into her domain, Brennan's awkward grad student happened to be passing carrying what seemed to be a good 5,000 trays in his arms.

"Hey Zach, where's Bones?" 

Zach came to a halt, his reaction surprised, "Are you talking to _me_ Booth?" 

"Well, I'm making eye contact, I said your name…I'm pretty sure that means I'm talking to you." He replied pushing his suit jacket back and putting both hands on his hips. 

Zack nodded oddly, "Dr. Brennan is in her office." 

"Thanks Zack." 

Before leaving, Booth patted Zack on the shoulder with an open hand. He couldn't see Zack's reaction but he knew he was probably beaming. Booth remembered the day Brennan had told him to pat Zack that way right after he had told her there were two types of family. He still had no idea why that gesture got Zack so excited but hey that was probably the highlight of that kid's week. As he knocked on her door and caught a glimpse of her sitting behind her desk, he also recalled what a perfect time that would've been to kiss her. Her hair framed her face in loose waves, while her hand which was resting on the side of her head pushed some of it back. He couldn't see her bottom half but he figured she was wearing those jeans she wore when she didn't have a case that drove him crazy to go with the dark purple blouse she was wearing. 

Her eyes met his and she closed the book she was reading, leaning back in her leather office chair, "Booth." 

"Bones." He smiled and happily let himself in, pushing thoughts of kissing her to the back of his mind. 

She pushed her chair back and came around from the behind her desk. Booth smiled quietly seeing she _was_ wearing the jeans. 

"What are you doing here?" she asked standing in front of him.

He shrugged, "I have a present for you." 

Booth watched as his partner's eyes grew wide and a small smile formed on her face. 

"We have a case?" Temperance asked eagerly. 

"Body was found on the other side of town outside an abandoned wear house." He said his eyes following her all around the room as she gathered all of her things, "I take it you're ready to go?" 

She smiled at him and let herself out of her office. 

About a half hour later, the duo was at the scene crossing the yellow tape surrounding the premise. Booth was practically running to keep up with his partner. 

"Hey Bones, you wanna take it down to at least a jog?" 

She didn't bother stopping but merely glanced behind her, "Booth we have a victim." 

"Yeah well I can pretty much guarantee that they are going to get up leave." He replied finally meeting her side. 

Brennan looked over at him and rolled her eyes, "If it were you who was the victim you'd want me running to you too." 

"Well, if I were dead I wouldn't know the difference." 

"So you would rather be left dead and rotting instead of someone finding you?" 

"Bones, I didn't say _that_. I'd want to be found but I'm saying when I'd be found doesn't really matter because I wouldn't know the difference." 

"I'd still want to be found as quickly as possible." 

Booth touched the small of her back, leading her toward the body, "And as long as I'm around you _will_ be found as quickly as possible."

Brennan didn't say another word, since she didn't know what _to_ say. Right now, she didn't have to say anything though because they were now in the presence of a very gruesome murder scene. 

She began to walk closer to the body which was hanging on a cross in a field behind the wear house. After slipping on her latex gloves, she began to examine the remains.

"Female…" she determined, "She's very badly charred but from what I can tell it looks like she's been here for about 2-6 weeks." 

"What's the deal with the cross?" Booth commented from some feet away behind her. 

Brennan stopped and turned around to look at Booth. 

Booth looked at her, "You have something?" 

"The cross, the burning, and the imitation of Christ's crucifixion…this girl is definitely the eighth victim." 

Booth nodded now seeing her train of thought, "In that case that's been all over the news about the guy who reads Bible verses to his victims before killing them." 

"I haven't examined the body thoroughly but it _has_ to be." Brennan nodded, "It's exactly the same scenario depicted in every newspaper. This in no way can be a mere coincidence." Brennan turned around to face the numerous amounts of FBI and forensics teams, "Let's get this body down from the cross!" She looked up at Booth as she removed her gloves, "We have a _lot_ of work to do." 


	2. Apples and Pineapples

**A/N: Hello hello, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! This story is harder for me to write primarily because I'm not a forensic anthropologist and I don't know the proper 'squint' terminology. So bare with me people haha. Anyhow, next chapter. (A Short and fluffy one…)**

_**Chapter 2: Apples and Pineapples:**_

Booth sat on a stool on the lab's platform as Zach and Brennan were hovering over the blackened body of their latest victim. Resting his elbows right above his knees and clasping his hands together, Booth observed his partner, hands on her hips, talking to Zach about the condition of the girl before them. He had decided to sit a good five feet away from them since he knew that Brennan would find away to say that perhaps his _gaze_ was compromising her bones. So he played it safe and decided to watch, _her_ in particularly, from afar.

"Hi Booth."

Booth hadn't even noticed that Zach had left Brennan's side and was now walking past him with their victim's skull on a tray.

He nodded toward him, "Oh, uh…hey Zach."

Once Zack was gone, another voice came from above him that he was much happier to hear. He looked up as she was removing the gloves from her hands.

"You _could_ be nicer to him Booth." She placed her hand holding her gloves on her hip shifting her weight to that side. As she looked at him, there was no denying to herself that although he was her partner, she definitely found him attractive. Wearing simply a pair of black pants, a white dress shirt, a black skinny tie, and that charm smile he often gave her in times like these, he appeared to her as extremely handsome; the word _sexy_ even crossed her mind.

He stood up so that they were in their very familiar position of inches away from each other's mouths, "I thought I was…_cordial_."

Although she knew that Booth couldn't be _that_ good at reading people to the point that he knew what they were thinking about, it seemed as though he was testing her limits knowing she was thinking about him.

'_Think rationally Brennan, he knows nothing.'_

"You honestly think that you are somewhat amiable towards Zach?"

"That _is_ what cordial means, Bones."

He leaned his head to the left and gave her a half seductive grin, "Anything new about the girl?"

She folded her arms and took a step closer to him smiling slightly, "Yes."

"_Yes_ would be more helpful if it were followed by some facts maybe?" He replied, his eyes flickering from her eyes to her slightly ajar lips.

"I will tell you _everything_…in the car."

Brennan stepped away from him and set her gloves on a table before unzipping her lab coat.

Booth silently cursed her for moving while he followed her quick moving frame to her office, "Why the car?"

"Because." Brennan hung her lab coat behind her door, "We have to get the autopsy reports from at least two victims of this crucifixion case to make sure that this isn't some copy cat killer, and is actually linked to the same case."

Booth followed her out of her office, "Do you know where two people were given an autopsy of that case? I mean you can't expect me to just drive and…"

"Booth, I wasn't planning on driving aimlessly hoping to come across a coroner. Lucky for us, two autopsies were performed at the Coroner's Office in Washington D.C."

Booth flipped his poker chip in the air and caught it, "Killing two birds with one stone."

"I don't know what that means."

He pushed her back lightly, leading her out of the automatic glass doors in the lab, "You know, lets say you were planning on going to two different stores lets say to get apples and pineapples and you…"

"I'm allergic to pineapples. My throat swells shut so this example doesn't make sense to me since I wouldn't be buying pineapples in the first place."

He rolled his eyes, "_Hypothetically_ Bones, you aren't allergic to pineapple and you can't get enough of the damn stuff. So you go out to get the apples at one store, and _bang_, the pineapples are right next to the apples. Now you don't have to go to the other store. Killing two birds with one stone."

She nodded thoughtfully, "I understand the concept now but the example wasn't logical."

"What do you mean _it wasn't logical_? It made perfect sense."

Brennan opened the passenger seat door, "Well why would you need to go to two different stores for two different foods? A grocery store sells all different kinds of foods. It's not like there's a separate store for poultry, and another for dairy and you need to drive to at _least_ seven different stores to complete a basic shopping list."

"You know what Bones, it was an example. Last time I use examples around you." He replied starting up his large jeep.

"You can use examples just…use ones that make sense."

"It did make sense. You and Zach are the only two people I know who would find something wrong with it though."

She turned her head to look at him, "That's because Zach and I are rational, unlike the people you believe would accept your example and succumb to the fact that pineapples and apples are sold in different stores on opposite sides of town."

"I never mentioned anything about the other side of t--."He sighed, "You know what? Forget it."


	3. The Demonstration

A/N: Hey guys! Thanks to anyone who is reading! Make sure to leave some _**feedback** _for this story because I'd love to know what you think! I haven't gotten many comments for this story so I don't know if that's telling me something lmao. Ok so yeah next chapter. Oh and P.S. how amazing are those new pictures of David and Emily?!

_**Chapter 3: The Demonstration:**_

"I didn't like that autopsy guy Michael Daniels." Booth commented as they were pulling out of the coroner's lot.

"Why? I thought he was very nice."

Booth rolled his eyes, "Of course _you_ liked him. He was more concentrated on taking you home than helping us with the case."

"He helped us with the case. He gave us what we needed." She replied waving around an ivory folder.

"Yeah well we went through an awfully lengthy process to get that folder."

"It wasn't _lengthy_." She replied setting the folder on the dashboard of the car.

"For 20 minutes he was practically drooling over you, another 20 was spent flattering you, I spent 10 minutes throwing up, and then oh yeah, 5 minutes discussing the autopsy files."

"Well that's all the time we needed to discuss the files. I'm the one who has to look them over and compare the girl's conditions."

Booth continued on his rant, "And then he went _on_ and _on_ talking about how he's heard of you and your work…I don't like that guy, Bones."

"Why? Because he's interested in my work?"

"One, he's pretending to be interesting in your work so he could take you out, and two I can read people pretty well, and I don't like the looks of that guy."

Brennan shrugged, "Tall, blonde, blue eyed, a great physique…I think the looks of him are just fine."

"To a _woman_. To a guy such as myself who happens to be an expert in people will see that the guy's sketchy."

Brennan rolled her eyes, "Do you want me to tell you about the case?" she asked switching the subject.

"That'd be nice." He sighed.

"We don't have a name just yet. Cause of death is definitely being lit on fire and we don't have any finger prints, so we are relying on Angela's sketch to put through the missing persons database."

Booth looked swiftly over at Brennan before returning his attention to the road, "She was _alive_ when she was on fire?"

"Her lungs contained a great deal of smoke which suggests she was _indeed_ burned to death."

"Damn." Booth muttered.

"There's also some indications her hands and feet of being bound, and no signs of breaks in either therefore she wasn't _actually_ crucified, just tied to the cross. Her ankles though appear not to be as harshly bound for some reason."

"Well, you let me know when we get a name so I can contact this girl's parents."

She smiled, "I always do don't I? Angela is also going through possible scenarios to see how our victim's pelvis was crushed. Angela is testing to see approximately how much weight could do it."

"So are you actually _seeing_ this guy?"

She rolled her eyes, "Did you hear anything I just told you about the case?"

"Sure I did. Pelvis, crushed, Angela testing…"

"He's picking me up for dinner tonight."

"That was fast." He muttered.

"It's only dinner Booth." She jumped, "BOOTH! Red light!"

He slammed on the breaks just as half of his car was on the other side of the light. Looking over at her he sighed. He was going to have to get her off his mind.

Entering the Jeffersonian, each of them swiped their IDs and walked onto the platform where Zach, Angela, and Hodgins were standing.

"What do we have so far?" Brennan asked from behind them.

Zach handed Dr. Brennan a piece of paper, "We found this in the victim's mouth."

Brennan opened up the paper and read it aloud,

"And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man.

-Genesis 9:5

What the hell does this mean?"

Picking up the autopsy report she looked over both girls' records. She nodded,

"Both of them were found with the _same_ verse in their mouths."

Booth nodded toward the Bible verse, "Now that's a creepy thing to read to someone before they die."

"Here's the sketch." Angela said handing the picture of the girl to Brennan, "It would take 180 pounds to crush her pelvis the way it did."

"Do we have any possible scenarios on how 180 ended up on her?" Booth asked looking over at the sketch in Brennan's hands.

Angela shrugged, "I thought maybe part of the cross fell on top of her."

"But how could the cross have fell on top of her?" Zach questioned, "He certainly had to tie her onto the cross while it was laying the ground."

Brennan's eyes lit up, "I think she may have been raped." She pointed over to the victim's ankles, "That explains why that there aren't prominent bound marks on her ankles."

"But how does it explain the crushed pelvis?" Hodgins inquired.

Brennan thought for a moment, before laying down on the floor, "Booth, sit on top of me."

He laughed, "You want me to _sit_ on you? I'll crush you."

"Exactly. Come down here."

Booth put on his best annoyed face and crouched down next to her, "Like…this?" he asked sitting lightly on her thighs, each of his legs on either side of her.

Angela and Hodgins gave each other an amused look before returning their attention to Brennan's racy demonstration.

"A little farther upward….there. Don't move" She signaled.

Just as he thought that they were already in a position they shouldn't be in, Brennan separated her legs. How did she expect him to keep his cool? She was doing this on purpose, she _had_ to be.

Angela grinned and folded her arms, "Boy oh boy Brennan…"

"Ok." Brennan spoke noticing that Zach looked terrified, "If our victim and attacker were in this position long enough, the weight would definitely be enough to crush our victim. Her arms were bound while her legs obviously were not until he was done with her."

Angela smiled, "This is hot."

"The fact that our victim was raped is not hot Angela."

"No, I mean how you and Booth are practically in a sex position. _That's_ hot"

"We are not in a sex position Angela we are…"

"Could I get up now?" Booth asked scared that his arousal would become a bit more prominent a few moments longer in this position. Any other time maybe in the back of his truck or in his bed he'd be more than _happy_ to be in that position with her, but right now, with Zach hyperventilating above them, it wasn't the time.

Brennan nodded as her face reddened, "Oh yeah, of course."


	4. Sparks Fly

A/N: Yay I got some feedback! Thanks guys! Haha. Hope you are enjoying the story!

_**Chapter 4: Sparks Fly**_

Booth was lying down on Brennan's couch still trying to recuperate from the events prior. It had happened around two hours ago and yet he still couldn't get it off his mind. Nothing had happened, he hadn't even touched her and yet he was desperate for more of her minus the gaping squints around them.

Booth groaned at the sound of heels on the marble floor in her office. He wasn't ready to see his partner just yet.

He watched her reflection in the mirror on the other side of the office. Thank _God_ she was wearing that lab coat or he really would have been screwed. She stopped in front of him and placed her hands on her hips. She grinned,

"We have a name."

Booth put his hands behind his head and began to relax. He could handle her, "What is it?"

Brennan began to unzip her lab coat "Jennifer Love, age 21. She was reported missing three weeks ago." She replied draping her coat over a nearby chair.

He felt like asking her to put her coat back on seeing how the low cut tank top she was wearing clung to her sides.

"I'll have to contact her family." He replied sitting upright.

She plopped down on the couch next to him still holding the case files in her hands, "And all of the results of the other two girls' autopsies were congruent with those of our current victim. Including my rape scenario."

Did she have to bring up her rape scenario _now_? Especially now that she was sitting next to him, with one turn of his head he had a bird's eye view of her breasts.

"So uh, did you get any contact information? You know, for the girl's family?" He asked looking straight ahead, looking at her in the mirror in front of them.

"Yes. Ah…" she began rummaging through the folders in her hands until one slipped out of her hands, scattering various papers around the area in front of her. Letting out a frustrated sigh, she crouched down to pick them up letting only the inevitable crossing through Booth's mind happen. Brennan's shirt rode up, revealing the small of her back he tended to touch through her blue lab coat.

By now, Brennan was shocked Booth hadn't joined in picking up her papers. Not that she _wanted_ him to; it just seemed like something Booth would normally help out with. Before she could turn around to look at him, she caught a glimpse of him in the mirror above her only to discover he was checking out her ass. As she continued to stack the papers on the floor, part of her wanted to exaggerate her actions to see his reaction, and part of her wanted to catch him in the act. She figured sexing it up was _not_ rational; therefore she went with plan b.

She placed all of her papers except the victim's parent's contact information in the folder they fell from before spinning her head around to look at him,

"What are you looking at?"

Booth finally snapped back to reality, "I, uh…nothing." Booth's gaze flickered down to his partner's backside before meeting her gaze.

_Shit Seely self control._ _Look at her not her ass. Eyes not ass. Eyes not ass. Damn Brennan get out of that position already! _

Brennan shifted her gaze behind her to where he was looking before standing up and facing him.

He sighed, "Hey Bones, I'm sor—."

"Here's the contact information you need." She placed the sheet of paper on his lap before heading toward the door.

_Way to blow it Seely. You're so damn stupid. Now she's…_

He stopped thinking for a moment seeing she returned.

She hesitated before releasing a sigh, "It's um…_okay_ Booth."

After all, she couldn't say she wasn't guilty of the same. _That's_ for sure.

He smiled timidly, "Thanks."

Giving him another small smile, she left the room. Once she had left, she took out his cell phone and began to dial the number on the paper resting on his lap. He was grateful to still have his head.

3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

11:00 PM: The day before her abduction

Two days later, Brennan was just returning from her date with Michael Daniels. She couldn't help but continue to smile even after she had kissed him goodnight and shut her door. She was really into this guy. He was charming, sweet, handsome, and to top it all off a _great_ kisser. She was genuinely happy at the moment, something she couldn't say often. Just as she began to cross the room, the peace was disturbed as the glass of her apartment window shattered as a bullet passed through. She dove to the floor grateful not to have been hit. And the room fell silent. Her heart seemed to be pounding out of her chest. She could feel her head throbbing, her hands trembling, and the blood draining out of her face. She jumped as the sound of two more shots filled her apartment. She quickly crawled into the kitchen and grabbed the phone. Frantically dialing his number she waiting anxiously for him to answer.

She sighed in relief hearing his voice, "Booth I _need_ you _now_."


	5. Stubborn

Dr

A/N: Whoa long time no update. Sorry about that!! To tell you the truth, I've been working on another Bones fic I wanna post when this one is through. SO I hope you enjoy this chapter!

_RECAP__: And the room fell silent. Her heart seemed to be pounding out of her chest. She could feel her head throbbing, her hands trembling, and the blood draining out of her face. She jumped as the sound of two more shots filled her apartment. She quickly crawled into the kitchen and grabbed the phone. Frantically dialing his number she waiting anxiously for him to answer._

_She sighed in relief hearing his voice, "Booth I need you now." _

_**Chapter 5: Stubborn**_

_Day of Abduction…_

Booth had woken up around 6AM the following morning which was entirely too early for him on a regular day. But because of the events of the night prior, he felt it was his obligation to make sure no one else tried to harm his partner. To pass the time that morning, he himself had stayed clear of all windows in her living room, and watched some television at a volume he was sure would not wake her up. Leaning his lead back on the couch, he had closed his eyes for what seemed to him to be a minute. Opening them, sunlight was now filling the apartment, and glancing over at the clock on the wall, it was 8:00. Leaping off of the couch silently cursing himself for falling asleep he walked down the hallway midway, just enough to see into his partner's room. To his relief, she was still in her bed sleeping. Walking back down the hallway in much less of a frenzy, he decided he'd get dressed before waking up Brennan.

She wasn't sure if it was apart of the amazing dream she was having or not. She figured it wasn't a dream since it didn't make sense that someone was shaking her so rudely during her Nobel Prize speech. Fluttering her eyes open, squinting a bit at the new found light Booth was standing over her rubbing her arm in effort to wake her. He was in his dress pants and his white collared shirt was unbuttoned as he was in the process of getting dressed, revealing his well sculpted chest to her. It was quite the sight to wake up to.

"Time to wake up, Bones." He said as he began to button up his shirt.

She stretched out her limbs, "Obviously, or else you wouldn't be waking me up." She grinned.

"Smart ass." He teased as he watched her pass him to get to her closet.

She turned around to smile at him before throwing a purple silk shirt and charcoal gray slacks onto her bed.

"Out Booth."

He looked confused, "What did I do?"

She shrugged, "Nothing I have to get dressed."

"Oh, right, of course. Obviously I mean…"

She watched his with her arms folded as he babbled on.

He put both hands in his pocket, "Yeah, Alright I'll leave." He motioned to the door with his thumb before backing out.

In about 20 minutes, his partner emerged from her bedroom with her hair and makeup done in the outfit she had just thrown onto her bed.

"Ready to go?" she asked him.

He picked up her coat which was resting on one of the kitchen table's chairs and held it out for her to put her arms in.

"Yep." He replied as Brennan shrugged into her coat and whipping out her hair that was tucked into her coat.

As the walked out of her apartment, Brennan turned around on the stairs and placed a key in Booth's hand.

"What's this?" he asked holding up the gold key.

"A key to my apartment."

He smiled to himself and pretended for a moment that they were that far in a romantic relationship.

She turned around to look at him, "Just in case…you know of a …emergency."

He nodded solemnly putting all other prior fantasies aside. She was _actually_ nervous for once, "Yeah, yeah of course."

Once they were in the car Booth spoke up, "You know Bones, I don't know if you should keep working this case."

She whipped her head to the side to look at him, "Why?"

"Because whoever is the killer in this case does _not_ want you to solve it. It's too risky Bones."

"I'm not stopping Booth."

He looked over at her, "The guy hired someone to shoot at you in your _home_. I think that's a pretty good reason to stop."

She shook her head, "Nobody can prove that this investigation was linked to the shooting. Until then, I'm working."

"Come on Bones. You know that that bastard is the one behind the shots. You gave me your apartment key 'in case of an emergency' for crying out loud."

She folded her arms and hesitated before answering sternly, "I'm working."

Booth shook his head, "You have a thick head Bones, a thick head." He sighed, "If something happens to you…"

She looked over at him before returning her attention outside her window.

He muttered quietly to himself as he rested his head on his hand, "Don't know what I'll do."


	6. You're Not My Father

_**Chapter 6: You're Not My Father**_

Booth walked a distance behind his visibly annoyed partner through the spacious grounds inside the Jeffersonian. He watched as she struggled to put on her coat in the mood that she was in while she continued to take quick steps, keeping the distance between them. Booth jogged to catch up with her and held out the sleeve in the coat that she kept missing. Slipping her arm into the coat she grumbled a "thanks" at his forgiving face. There was no way a little help with her lab coat was going to help her attitude towards him, or at least she wouldn't show it. After swiping her card at the entrance of the platform, she began to zip up her coat,

"Anything new?" she regarded towards Zach and Hodgins who were standing over the victim's charred body.

The sound of Booth's swiped card rang as he followed Brennan to her domain.

"Well, I believe our victim was hit over the head with something. I'm not sure _what_ quite yet but it was probably because the drugs didn't perform quickly enough."

Brennan folded her arms, "Drugs? That isn't possible to tell since we don't have her…"

"Stomach?" Zack finished.

"The FBI found some…_organs_ I guess on the scene of the crime." Booth chimed in, "When she was burned I guess they just…well you k…"

Brennan looked over at him confused, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I _thought_ I did. Apparently not though since you're giving me a death stare." He smirked.

She rolled her eyes at him before returning her attention to Zack, "Are you sure that the stomach you have is our victim's?"

"Yes I'm quite certain." He nodded eagerly, "There were traces of gamma-hydroxybutyrate in her stomach."

Brennan nodded, "Common date-rape drug." She directed towards Booth.

"I knew that Bones. Just because I'm not a big fancy scientist doesn't mean I don't…"

"How much of it was found in her system?" Brennan inquired.

If he hadn't been interrupted, "…understand big, fancy, words for drugs."

"Not an enormous amount, but it wasn't insignificant either."

Hodgins took off his gloves, "The killer probably wanted to kill her quick so there wasn't a chance of getting caught, and the drugs were taking too long to kick in."

"So he bashed her over the head." Booth snatched his poker chip out of the air, "Makes sense."

Brennan nodded approvingly, "Good work, both of you." Spinning around on her heels she left the platform.

Hearing footsteps behind her as she made her way to her office she turned around. She let out an annoyed sigh when she seen that it was Booth and kept walking; "Must you follow me everywhere?"

"I'm kinda your partner Bones." He said turning the lights on in her office.

She sat down at her computer desk, "Yes, you are my _partner_, not my _stalker_." Shaking the mouse a little bit to turn the screen on she gasped, "Oh my God."

Booth sprung up from the couch in her office and stood over her at the computer. Microsoft word was opened on her screen and in big bold letters the screen read the bible verse they had seen multiple times,

_**Dr. Temperance Brennan,**_

_**And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man.**_

_**-Genesis 9:5**_

After Booth had read this message, his roamed the room for any other signs of someone being there who wasn't supposed to. Looking straight ahead into the darkened bathroom, he noticed black markings on the mirror.

Brennan reacted to his quick movement toward the bathroom and stood up, "Booth, what's wrong?"

Turning on the lights in the bathroom, the same message was painted onto the mirror.

He looked at her, "You have to stop working this case _now_."

She sighed, "Booth I just ca…"

Booth called for one of the security guards outside the office, "I need you to get all surveillance tapes of this whole area together for me now. Don't let anyone without an ID into this building or out."

"Booth," Brennan continued, "I can't just stop working a case because of a factor a danger. There's always going to be that in any case I work on."

"Bones, this person was in your _office_. This is a whole new level of concern. I think you're smart enough to realize that and this guy, whoever he is, does _not_ want you finishing this."

"Booth, not a criminal involved in any one of the cases we've worked on has wanted me to finish a case! So _what _Booth? What? Should I just give up my profession because of this?"

"I'm not saying that Bones," he said trying not to start yelling, "I'm just saying that you should drop this _one_ case, just _one_ for the sake of your life. 'Cause that's what it's about right now."

"You're not my _father_ or something Booth. I can make my own…"

"You know what you're right Bones. You're _right_. I'm _not_ your father. I'm not going to abandon you and let you fend for yourself and just wonder about what the hell is going on and if you're living or dead on some cross!" He looked at her when he was done. The room fell silent and tears were in his partners eyes. He prayed he'd never be the cause of her tears ever again.

"Bones, I'm _so_ sor…"

Before he could finish she stormed out of the room throwing her lab coat on the floor and began to run towards the front doors of the Jeffersonian.

He stepped outside her office, "Bones!" He called after her. She didn't bother even turning around and continued through the automatic doors and out to the parking lot. Booth kicked the door of her office and rubbed his head. He silently cursed himself for what he'd just done, kicking the door one more time harder. Looking out toward the door, he decided to follow her. Running as fast as he could, he retraced her steps, through the automatic doors and out to the parking lot. He frantically scanned the lot,

"Bones!" He ran his hands through his hair, "Come on," he muttered, "Bones!"

His eyes then fell upon her silver Mercedes Benz, the sight causing his heart to sink. The trunk of the car had a new found dent, and blood stained the car's paint. Booth quickly began to make his way toward the building and hurriedly dialed on his phone,

"I need backup at the Jeffersonian _now_."


End file.
